No FBI Agent Should Just Trust Trump to Tell Truth, Republican Senators Form Wingnut Xylophone, How to Line Your Pockets While Reshaping the Court, SCOTUS Ponders Whether to Dub Loans Unforgiven, Effort to Recall N.O. Appointees are to be city residents. Hed run for the wards City Council seat against her best friend Aliska, losing 244 to 51. She started organizing tenants in the two apartment buildings she managed, Mayfair Manor and Valley Cove a multiracial coalition of fast-food workers, former addicts, veterans, the elderly, the disabled and a few who kept declining to fill out voter registration forms until it became clear they could not read. Fayette is a town where people have always found opportunity waiting to be fulfilled. Contact Glenda for availability and services provided by the staff. ? her cousin wrote. Add to calendar Details Date: We are also the home of the Sipsey Arts Alliance. The City Manager is responsible for managing the Citys employees, and the finances and resources as the chief budget officer. Yet.. Copyright 2015 City of LaFayette Website Development by Red Sage Communications, Inc. Click Here to watch the latest City Council Meetings. Get your date and time reserved early while they are available. . We talked about it, Cedric said. Posted-By: City of LaFayette, Alabama City Council: Meeting-Date: 2/1/2023 Meeting-Time: 4:30PM: Notice History: Meeting-Location: 50 Alabama Avenue West P. O. Under the current electoral system, the City Council consists of nine Council members and a mayor. I worked for that spot. [1] Federal officials The current members of the U.S. Senate from Alabama are: To view a map of U.S. House districts in Alabama and find your representative, click here . Here in the shebeen, we are longtime fans of Stephanie McCrummen, who is posted in the South and who writes for the Washington Post. The Fayetteville City Council is the elected governing body representing the citizens of Fayetteville. Call us today to get any more information about our county. In Ward Two, incumbent Councilman Eddy D. Campbell will face challenger Floyd Rogers Jr. for the position. You not ready for the next level if you allowing this pettiness to get to you, her cousin had texted back. We strive to hear every single question, concern, and comment to better enhance the quality of life in our City. What mattered about her election what had spawned a lawsuit aimed at unseating her and nervous rumors about what her victory could mean was that she was the first to win outside the traditionally Black ward, breaking through what had seemed to her and other Black residents of Fayette to be the informal Rule of One. I cant understand why all of a sudden we are allowing this, said a White woman sitting in the front row with her daughter, addressing the board. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. We just havent said anything about it. Each council member is assigned oversight for a unit of city government. Relevant maps for LaFayette, Alabama The Fayetteville City Council meets regularlyin formal session on the second and fourthMonday of each month. The mayor also appoints Council members to City Council committees and liaison positions. The cameraman who live-streamed all the council meetings swung the lens toward Virettia, who cleared her throat. The City Council appoints a manager who carries out the laws and policies enacted by Council. Fayette | Alabama Secretary of State Our area has an abundance of natural resources and outdoor recreational opportunities for anglers and outdoorsmen, as well as having a major portion of the Sipsey River running through the center of the county. When I moved to my house it looked like nothing, and I fixed it up. Virettia closed her eyes and thought about all the things she had wanted to say but had not said during the past months as she felt her legitimacy questioned. She was not the first Black person on the City Council in the rural town of Fayette. Virettias mother had shopped at his store. City Council | Fayetteville, NC Find 6 Town & City Halls within 22.8 miles of Fayette City Hall. She walked by the men chatting in the corridor and took her seat next to her colleagues, wondering if they had supported Scotties lawsuit. Popularity:#1 of 2 Town & City Halls in Fayette County#114 of 236 Town & City Halls in Alabama#3,438 in Town & City Halls. What he had told her was that she would learn her own lessons, and so she was trying, going one evening with Aliska to observe a hearing of the zoning board of adjustments. Can You Prove Those Colonists Weren't Witches? A few days later, Virettia was still upset, and when a tenant whod helped on her campaign stopped by her office, she started telling her what had happened. As hed told Virettia: I felt fooled by 'em. They drove through downtown, then crossed over into Virettias ward on the east side of town, which she had won in a runoff against a White candidate, 184 to 104, with most of her votes coming from her tenants. There is Opportunity for You in Fayette! (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post). City of LaFayette 50 Alabama Ave W LaFayette, Alabama 36862 334-864-7181 info@cityoflafayetteal.com. Like spitting on the sidewalk. Were hustling backwards, Virettia said. Please join me, the Council and others of our community as we strive to make Fayette an even better place to live, work and play. She needed his advice deciphering Fayettes zoning laws, but she also knew that Cedric had barely left his house since losing the election, and she was worried about him. Hed never told her about the notes he got in his mailbox with messages like Shut your mouth, n-----. Or the restraint he had to summon to ask White colleagues who still used the term boy to refer to Black men: If you know the gentlemans name, would you please call him by his name? He had not told her about feeling like you werent there.. Learn more about our 15-man engineering crew and view their contact information here. Social media was aflame with boogedy-boogedy about busloads of Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists coming to wreak havoc in Your Town. She had replaced it with a trailer approved by the fire chief, a decision some of her neighbors were asking to be overturned by referring to a 1970s ordinance. Jeremy Dawson . The Fayette City Council with members Tommy Williams and Virettia Whiteside meets at City Hall in the small Alabama town in January with Mayor Rod Northam in attendance. A city resident wishing to become mayor must specifically run for that office. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), Former council member Cedric Wilson, at his home in January, served Fayette's historically Black Ward 4 for more than 20 years before stepping down in an unsuccessful run for mayor. Even though Virettia had never met Scottie Porter, he was not exactly a stranger. . City Council | Lafayette, CO - Official Website (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), TOP: Virettia talks with a resident at the Mayfair Manor apartments in Fayette. This aint the half of it, baby.. The City of LaFayette Alabama website home page The per capita income for the city was $16,602. County Information | AL | Fayette County . She felt anxious still. And I said, Sure is, which in his mind was the put-down of the century, a luxury he would normally not allow himself. This is bigger than me.. Fayette, Alabama - Wikipedia I dont have anything tonight, she said, looking out at the faces in the audience, and then at the mayor. For a full list of our elected officials and department heads including contact information, click here. That creates the opportunity for minority representation on the council roughly equal to minority representation within thecity'spopulation. Im right here, she said to the woman. What bothered her was not Scottie Porters lawsuit or social media postings exactly, but the silence. How he wasnt exactly upset that he lost, but that he lost behind all those things that were said by people he thought he could trust. Alabama Open Meetings Act - Notice Details 54 were here. In 1928, Victor and Lucy Patterson began manufacturing Golden Eagle Syrup in Fayette. Ox Bodies, now a division of TBEI, is a world leader in truck dump bodies, Fayette Fabrication, founded in 2014, provides custom carts, racks and skids for the automotive industry across the southeast. I had a fire. Sherry Settle represented the Fayette County Board of Registrars at the meeting. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males. People say it could never happen here. That she had won. There are may things we can do together to continue providing the environment of opportunity Fayette has always enjoyed. But at a moment when old political orthodoxies were being challenged all the way down to small towns in the rural South, there were now two Black women on the Fayette City Council: one representing the Black ward, and Virettia Whiteside, 35, manager of two apartment complexes across from a vestigial cotton field on the east side of town. [3] When Fayette County was created in 1824, the town's name was officially changed to "Fayette Court House", though it was also known as "Fayetteville", which was the name shown on maps and on the U.S. Census in 1880 and 1890. Check out the Gas Board website. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. Virettia held her hand as the board voted, each of the White members siding with the White neighbors, and the one Black board member siding with Ericka, thwarting the unanimous vote needed to block the trailer. Hes the only Black.. Rioters were going to target downtown Fayette, where the Garden Club had planted flower beds and people gathered on holidays in the courthouse square. Antiques store owner Scottie Porter lost a lawsuit against Virettia that disputed her eligibility to hold office in Ward 1 because she owns a home outside of it. The City televisesregularly scheduled Council meetings liveand on playback on FayTV. She was raising two sons. We are fans because she goes out and finds those small stories in small places that nevertheless teach us big lessons about what kind of country we actually are, a question that has stumped us pretty badly so far in 2021. The multiracial tenants include fast-food workers, veterans and elderly and disabled people. See a helpful list of local county services and agencies. Of the four Black candidates who ran, they were the two who had won. There used to be no Black, Cedric said. City Council - Fayette, Alabama You may rent any of several rooms, including the auditorium, for your special event. The city is situated on the southern edge of the Piedmont Plateau. Council Meetings - Fayette, Alabama City Council Meetings begin at 5:00 PM on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month in the City Hall. Fayette municipal election is Tuesday, Aug. 25. The more members the more the Chamber can promote Fayette and Fayette can promote your business. City Council | City of Montgomery, AL Across many fields of endeavor Fayette has been the starting point for people with great ideas, energy and expectations for tomorrow. Aliska Hughes-Monroe, Virettia's best friend, was elected in November to represent Ward 4. Whys there always only one Black? Virettia said. FayTV is available on Spectrum Cable on Channel 7 and video content is also available for viewingonline. Council members and the mayor are not full-time city employees, but they are financially compensated for their time and expenses. BOTTOM RIGHT: Like many other Mayfair Manor residents, Zach supported Virettia during her council run. This Was Gerrymandering Cloaked in Civil Rights. Youre going to see some things, Cedric said. Over the course of its history our town has been the starting point of many endeavors that became larger than the the city itself. The biggest threat to the male ego is a black woman, she said, reading out loud a quote someone had sent her as she began work one morning at Mayfair Manor, where she had a glass-front office in the lobby and the first tenant of the day stopped in just after 8 a.m. You doing okay, Junie? Virettia asked an elderly woman. Few people will say what I say, but people in this town were scared to death. Under the current electoralsystem, the City Council consists of ninecouncil members and a mayor. .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}In her latest work, McCrummen tells the tale of a Black woman named Virettia Whiteside, a member of the city council in a place called Fayette, Alabama. Mayor of Fayette / 660-248-5246 . BOTTOM LEFT: Residents sit outside Mayfair Manor. Always one, a situation that had long described the reality of entrenched White power outside big Southern cities like Birmingham or Atlanta. One Black person on the City Council. Cumberland County falls under the requirements of the Federal Voting Rights Act. Wade?. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.85. Council elections arenonpartisan and a primary election is held inOctober, only when more than twocandidates vie for a specific seat. Here lately Ive just been down in the dumps, the woman said, and after they talked awhile, another tenant came by to discuss her sons mental illness. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88. Rent out our incredible multipurpose complex for your next event. She took a deep breath and ventured into a subdivision called Haughton Acres, walking up to houses flying Trump flags, and as the campaign went on, the rest of the town realized this was no ordinary election. People got to live, said the Black board member, Scott Walker, who had become visibly angry as the hearing went on. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), Virettia stands in Mayfair Manor's Community Room. The median household income was $25,714 and the median family income was $36,589. Name Fayette City Hall Address 203 Temple Avenue North Fayette, Alabama, 35555 Phone 205-932-5367 Hours Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-4:00 PM Stand behind me show up! Virettia had texted then. The mega-rich. Fayette operates under the Mayor-Council form of government. All council members and Mayor Ray Nelson were present for the meeting. Population control. She is the newly elected City Council member for Ward 1, which includes the complexes she manages. I believe it with all my heart.. She saw Black women changing politics across the South including next door in Georgia, and soon she was posting a statement on Facebook titled My Why: I am running because Im a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend and I am committed to our city, its residents and making local government work better for everyone.. To speak before the City Council on a matter of importance fill out and submit this Agenda Request Form. She pretended like she didnt see me. Under the council/manager form of government, the Fayetteville City Council performs the legislative functions of the City, establishing laws and policies, sets strategic priorities and adopts the annual budget. Virettia talks with a resident at the Mayfair Manor apartments in Fayette. About Us - Fayette Art Museum including West Point Lake in Georgia, 15 minutes to the east and Alabama's Lake Martin, 30 minutes to the west. The population density was 530.2 inhabitants per square mile (204.7/km2). Hey Jerry, the mayor said to one of the other councilmen as he came in. The Civic Center will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary on March 25th. City Council - Fayette, Alabama All Events This event has passed. Appointees are to serve on only one boardor commission at a time and shall attend atleast 75% of regularly scheduled meetings onan annual basis from the date of theirappointment. Besides the Mayor, there are five council members. She walked by them, took her seat and began looking over the agenda, thinking about what she might say once she had a chance to speak. The population was 4,619 at the 2010 census, [2] down from 4,922 at the 2000 census. At the time, two Black women were organizing Black voters to try to change that when they were accused of absentee ballot fraud, convicted by all-White juries and given the maximum sentences of four and five years in prison. He pulled his hoodie over his face, pretending to avoid her. The Fayette City Council meets the Second and Fourth Tuesday of each month. Its a lot of language about us in the Constitution of Alabama thats been there since 1921.. And I think developing those relationships is a good thing, the mayor said, moving on. All nine council members are elected from single member districts and only citizens within each district may vote for each district seat. Eddie Williams is on it, Cedric said. A White woman Virettia had known for years had sent her a private message asking how she was holding up but nothing public. We are conveniently located 40 miles from the City of Tuscaloosa and approximately 90 miles to the City of Birmingham. Bevill State Community College has a location in Fayette. The racial makeup of the city was 73.4% White, 24.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post). Fayette municipal election is Tuesday, Aug. 25 | The Times-Record If you give me time, my trailer might put a value on your home. Generally, no votes are taken. Why now?. I lost everything. Aliska Hughes-Monroe and Scottie Carl Porter are seeking the council position in Ward Four. Four days later, a sheriffs deputy knocked on her door and handed her a lawsuit aimed at overturning her election based on the residency issue. Phone-Number: 334-864-7181 Meeting-Type: regular Submission-datetime: 1/23/2023 . There had been others, all elected from the same ward since 1988, the one drawn after a federal lawsuit forced Fayette and other towns across the state to create districts that would enable Black representation. Our county is fortunate to have an abundance of industries ranging from agricultural and timber to industrial manufacturing. She listened as the mayor opened the first regular meeting of the new council. Fayette, AL Map & Directions - MapQuest A federal judge later tossed out the decisions, but not before the matter helped spark the largest civil rights march in the South since the famous Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of my hometown. Information about LaFayette, Alabama City Council Members City Council District A Terry G. Mangram (334) 497-9935 Click here to email Councilman Mangram District B David Ennis (706) 518-4441 Click here to email Councilman Ennis District C Toney B. Thomas (334) 864-5335 Click here to email Councilman Thomas District D Michael C. Ellis (706) 350-9762 How White colleagues hed come to consider friends after 24 years on the council had backed off supporting him after the rumors started that he had recruited all the Black candidates to run at once, which was not true. The per capita income for the city was $15,553. The former councilman from that ward was running for mayor, and soon rumors started flying. Not that Virettia, who had never been in Scotties store and had never been one of the people he sometimes invited in for afternoon tea and conversations amid the antiques, had heard him say any of this; she only had the lawsuit, along with her own knowledge that it was precisely because of what had happened in Aliceville and places like it that in 1988, Black voters in Fayette were able to elect the towns first Black councilperson, who happened to be her father. 2023 County Office. But getting back to what you were saying, baby.. Leading us in prayer will be Wade Jackson, he said. Seeking the position of mayor, replacing retiring Mayor Ray Nelson, will be: Kevin Bass, Rod Northam, Max Weaver and current City Councilman Cedric Wilson. Dont talk to her, talk to them, said the womans daughter, pointing to the board of three White men and one Black man. Look at my heart., But that was not reality, she was saying the next morning, sitting in her office. It was Tuesday, the day of the council meeting, and in the afternoon, Virettia got a call from a White woman in town, a friend of her mothers, who had been the only person to defend her on Facebook. Elections are held separate from state and federal elections. Four Black candidates were running for major positions, something that had never happened before in Fayette. Its hard even now to believe how crazy with fear the protests last summer made white people in this country. Preachers: nothing. Design by Tara McCarty. You will be surprised at what you can achieve here. Males had a median income of $34,271 versus $27,500 for females. The Aquatic Center will begin taking Party Reservations on April 3. 1.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), TOP: Despite aging buildings and the occasional downed sign, Fayette has been trying to revive its downtown area. Councilwoman Aliska Hughes-Monroe was absent from the meeting with all other council members present. Thornell authors economic development book. TheFayetteville City Councilis an elected body representing the citizens of Fayetteville. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. She got up and followed the sound outside where she found a tenant she knew as a veteran with PTSD, saying over and over I did a lot of bad things, and so she had held his hand for a while, saying We serve a God thats a forgiving God until he calmed down. The story takes a twist at the end which I will not reveal, but suffice it to say that McCrummen has brought us a cautionary tale from a small place that brings us a lesson about a number of big things, including who we really are as a nation, which should stump us no longer. The Fayette City Council met in a special called meeting at noon on Tuesday Sept. 1 to add the legitimate provisional ballots cast during the Aug. 25 primary and to certify the election results. Their combined presence changed the longtime makeup of the council. Its going to look fine. Posted-By: City of LaFayette, Alabama City Council: Meeting-Date: 2/28/2023 Meeting-Time: 5:30 PM: Notice History: Meeting-Location: FARMERS FEDERATION(ALFA) BUILDING 1006 AVENUE A SE LAFAYETTE, AL 36862. The Fayetteville City Council is the electedgoverning body representing the citizens ofFayetteville. In her new role, she works to help people beyond the complex. Then she got a lawyer in Birmingham who asked the judge to dismiss the case, describing it as an attempt to intimidate Ms. Whiteside and to punish her for winning election to a traditionally white seat and literally an effort to keep Ms. Whiteside in her place. . I know its hard youre his mom and thats your baby, but Im here, Virettia said, waving over another tenant behind on his rent. what black person have you seen come to my defense Ill wait NO ONE, she had texted her cousin in a moment of frustration. Again. The womans daughter stood up: My daddy would roll over in his grave if he knew there was a double-wide in there I cannot believe this, she said. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), During her campaign, Virettia knocked on doors in Haughton Acres, a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood in her ward. Lord give me the strength, Virettia thought to herself. She told her thank you, but no, and as she changed into a skirt and heels and drove over to City Hall in the early evening, she weighed whether this was the moment to bring her feelings out into the open. Fayette, Alabama City Council 'Rule of One' Black Member Comes to an End 1 Read Every Article Esquire Has Ever Published 2 The 35 Best Gifts for Serious Whiskey Drinkers 3 Marvel Is Weird About. But no one wants to talk about race in this town, she said. He needs to go to the hospital.. Fayette County has four incorporated towns and cities including Fayette, Glen Allen, Berry, and Belk. Just have a conversation with me. Wednesday, August 19, 2020 - 11:04:46 AM. Normally thats where the hurt comes from, thinking you know somebody. Mayor and City Council Members.